Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Would testing help ?

Hi,
I am new to this forum. Have been a silent reader for the past couple of weeks. My eight almost nine year old was tested this year in 3rd grade. He scored a 9E(V-) in CoGAT and 99% in ITBS for reading and Math. The school will not do anymore testing. They have identified him as very strong in Math and Reading based on the CoGAT and ITBS scores. From 4th Grade he will be pulled out of class for a couple of hours each week for AG work.
Right now he has been getting complaints from his teacher that he is not finishing his work on time and he is not paying attention. She says he does not follow thru with the tasks assigned to him. The GT teacher who tested him remarked that he was probably just bored. He is a well behaved kid but since last year I have noticed he doesnt like school as much as he used to.
I have never thought of him to be super smart but he does pick things up very quickly. He was an early reader and he loves legos and puzzles since he was 3. He is my first born so I do not have much experience in recognizing if he was advanced for his age. I do not really remember his milestones.
Do you think getting him tested (IQ and achievement ) will help with better understanding his needs ?
It costs quite a bit so I was wondering if the testing is really necessary or if I should just challenge him at home with work that is a grade above his current level. I have no one to talk to about this , my friends think I am crazy to be worried that my son scored so high on his tests. He is almost 9 and I do not want to kill any potential he may have.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

As I understand these things (I'm no expert), the CoGAT is an IQ test and the ITBS is an achievement test, so I'm not sure what would be there to gained by further testing.

CogAt is not an IQ test, it is a test of reasoning abilities.

Before you pay for further testing, perhaps you can speak with his teacher about having him work at his level. If this behavior continues once he's doing challenging work, then it may be time to have him tested.

I will say that 3rd grade is where things began unraveling for both dd and d.s.. There seems to be some erroneous thought in the teaching community that all children even out in third and fourth grades.

I would start with your insurance, assuming you have insurance, if you decide to do private testing. Find out if your insurance covers behavioral issues. If so, track down a neuropsychologist who takes your plan and schedule an appointment. That's the route we are going. It will take a while (May for us) to get in, but all we'll have to pay is our standard co-pay.

(Of course, there has to be a reason you are doing to see them. For us it is behavioral problems in school.)

It's not erroneous. As long as gifted children aren't receiving anything resembling appropriate instruction, the rest of the class will have caught up around then.

A sheepdog will catch up to a cheetah, as long as the cheetah is being forced to drag another sheepdog.

Thank you for replying. They are much appreciated.

Dude,
To be honest I am not sure what to make of his scores. Is he really gifted or just a smart boy? I think just CoGAT and ITBS dont tell me that. I am hoping further testing might help with that question.
Even if the school will not use those results I might be able to afterschool him better. Applying to programs like the Young Scholars seem require such tests done too. So it might be worthwhile to get it done.

Agent99,
The teacher has promised to do better but with 26 kids in her classroom with no TA she is streched pretty thin. His AG teacher has called for a conference next month so hopefully something comes out of it.

"I will say that 3rd grade is where things began unraveling for both dd and d.s.. "
May I ask what happened ?

Epoh,
Hmm its food for thought. Did you have to get a written note from the teacher before contacting the insurance ?